Apparatus for gapping slide fasteners



March 17, 1959 Filed Nov. 15, 1954 J. E. BURBANK APPARATUS FOR GAFPING SLIDE FASTENERS 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR JOHN E. BURBANK H [S ATTORNEYS March 1 7, 1959 Filed Nov J. E. BURBANK APPARATUS FOR GAPPING SLIDE FASTENERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 e9 v44 49 ea I 3I\ w ----ze a? L 26 INVENTOR JOHN E. BURBANK HIS ATTORNEYS March 17, 1959 J. E. BURBANK 2,877,844

APPARATUS FOR GAPPING SLIDE FASTENERS Filed Nov. 15, 1954 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 8' 89 INVENTOR 88 .l JOHN E.BURBANK.

a'e /e3 az ra BY :2

HIS ATTORNEYS March 17, 1959 J. E. BURBANK 7 2,877,844

APPARATUS FOR GAPPINGSLIDE FASTENERS Filed"Nov. 15, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 R" Q Q a u.

Mimi?! 3 5 INVENTOR JOHN E. BLJRBANK H ISXATTORNEYS United States Patent APPARATUS FOR GAPPIN G SLIDE FASTENERS John E. Burbank, Stamford, Conn., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Cue Fastener, Inc., a corporation of New York Application November 15, 1954, Serial No. 468,745 14 Claims. (Cl. 164-47) This invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus for making slide fasteners and it relates particularly to methods and apparatus for making coil-type.

into pieces of a desired length and to cut and remove end sections of each of the coils to form fasteners of a desired length. The cutting and removal of the end sections of the coils is a manual operation and because it is slow as compared with the manufacture of the remainder of the fastener, it has imposed serious limitations on the rate of production of such fasteners.

In accordance with the present invention, apparatus is provided whereby sections of the coil fastener can be removed automatically and with such accuracy as to enable the high speed production of fasteners'of a desired length.

' More particularly, the method and apparatus involve cutting the coil at at least two spaced points along the tape and thereafter removing the section of the coil be tween the two points. When the tape is then cut at the middle'of the gap left'by removal of the coil section,

individual fastener strips are formed. The length of the strips is controlled by the spacing of the gaps left 'by removing the sections of coil. The cutting and removing operations can be accomplished with a variety of apparatus involving blades or punches which sever'the coils at the desired location and also disengage the severed portions of the loops or convolutions of the coil from the material to which they are attached. 7

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figs. 1 to 4 are schematic views in perspective ,of apparatus embodying the invention and illustrating the action of the apparatus in removing sections of the coil fastener from the tape to which it is' attached;

Figs. 5 to 7 are schematic views in perspective illustrating a modified type of apparatus and its action in removing coil sections from the slide fastener;

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of a typical apparatus for cutting and removing coil sections of the type illustrated schematically in Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 8;

Figs. 10 to 13 are views of cooperating elements of a modified form of apparatus for cutting and removing coil sections from a single stringer of a coil-type fastener;

Figs. 14 to 17 are schematic views in perspective showing a modified apparatus for simultaneously removing coil sections from a meshed coil-type fastener;

1 Fig. 18 is a view in front elevation of an apparatus Ice including the elements shown in Figs. 14 to 17 for gapping the meshed fastener; and Fig. 19 is a view in end elevation and partly in section of the apparatus shown in Fig. 18. As indicated generally above, in order to form coiltype slide fasteners of suitable length from continuous strips of fastener material including a coil secured by textile threads or the like to a piece of material or tape, it is necessary to cut and remove sections of the coil of the fastener to divide the coil into spaced lengths joined by the tape. This operation is known as gapping. The tapecan then be cut between the spaced ends of the coils, the coils can be provided with appropriate end stops and two of them may be joined by means of a slider to form the finished slide fastener. While the coilv sections preferably are formed of plastic material, forexample, nylon and can be cut without difficulty, no one has provided an apparatus which can be operated manually or automatically to gap the fasteners quickly :and accurately at predetermined but adjustable intervals,

The present invention provides means for accomplishing this result by cutting the coil in such a manner that the severed section or sections can be gripped and can be pulled, due to their inherent flexibility, from the thread or yarn loops which are woven or sewed around the coil to connect it to the tape.

Illustrative of one method of gapping a fastener, the operations disclosed generally in Figs. 1 to 4 will. bediscussed first. As shown in Fig. l, a typical section of slide fastener of the coil type may include a generally helical coil 10, made up of a series of connected convolutions or loops of the kind shown in the Wahl U. S. Patent No. 2,300,442. The coil 10 is secured to a tape 11 by means of threads extending through the loops of the coil and either passing through the tape 11 or forming-a part thereof. Preferably, the fastener also includes I a pair of bead cords 12 and 13 which are used for guiding a slider along the coil 10. It will be understood thatthe coil 10 and the tape 11 may be of any convenient length and preferably will be formed in bolts or reels of feet, more or less. t a

In order to gap, or remove sections of, the coil 10, each of the loops is cut by means of a sharpened blade 15 which is advanced from the position at one side of the coil through one side of each of the loops from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig.2. In order to prevent dislodgement of the coil 10 while. it is being cut, a backing member 16 is provided to engage the opposite side of the coil from the blade 15. The member 16 has a lip 16a overlying the upper edge of the coil thereby preventing the coil from moving upwardly as it is being cut. The blade 15 and the backing member 16 are arranged so that the blade 15 cannot engage the backing member 16. These elements are retained in slightly spaced relation thereto when the blade. l5xi'siin its most advanced position so that only one side of .each loopis cut. After cutting one side of each loop of the coil 10, the blade 15 continues to advance,'as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and engages, but does not cut the other side of the severed loops. Then the blade Y15 and backing member 16, with the severed loops gripped between them, move to one side of the tape 11 which is held against displacement by means of a suitable pair of gripping jaws 17 or 18, or the like. All the Moment by the blade are withdrawn from the thread loops19 which secure them to the tape 11 by their movement relative to the tape. Thus, an entire section of the coil 10 can be removed with one cut and without disarranging the sections of the coil on opposite sides of the severed coil section. v f El During the movement of the blade 15 back to the post,

tion shown in Fig. l, the severed loops are scraped or blown off the edge of the blade 15.

The apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4 can be modified somewhat to assure a positive separation of the severed section of the coil from the sections of the coil at opposite sides of it and without disarranging the latter coil sections. As shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the blade 20 may have projecting cutting edges 21 and 22 at its opposite ends which cut through both sides of the loops of the coil at opposite ends of the knife. By cutting both sides of the end loops, blade 26 and backing member 16 cannot grip and disarrange the ends of the coils on opposite sides of the gap. As illustrated in Fig. 7, a scraping member 23 may be brought down against the upper surface of the knife when the latter is retracted to scrape the severed edge from the edge of the blade.

The mechanism described above is operated in proper relationship and may be mounted for automatic operation in the manner illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9. As shown in Fig. 8, a typical apparatus may have a frame 25 provided with legs 26 supporting it on the floor or the like and having an upper platform 27 thereon on which the operating mechanism of the apparatus is mounted. At

the left-hand end of the platform 27, as viewed in Fig. 8, there is mounted an upright 28 which carries a pair of spaced guide plates 29 and 30 engaging the upper and lower surfaces of the backing member 16 and supporting it for sliding movement therebetween. A spring 31 is interposed between the back of the backing member 16 and the upright 28 normally urging the backing member towards the right. Also mounted at about the midportion of the platform 27 are the gripping jaws 17 and 18. As shown, the jaw 17 is retained in fixed position by securing it to a backing flange 32 extending transversely of the platform 27. The jaw 18 is connected by means of a hinge or pivot 33 near its lower end to the jaw 17 and biased away from the jaw 17 so that the jaw 18 can move toward and away from the jaw 17 to grip and release the tape 11.

At the right-hand end of the platform are the uprights 34 and 35 which support for rotation a crank 36 by means of which the knife 15 is reciprocated. The knife can be like the knife 20, if desired. As shown in Fig. 9, the knife 15 has its sides slidably received in horizontal extensions 37 and 38 from the uprights 34, 35 so that the blade can reciprocate toward and away from the backing member 16. Reciprocation of the blade 15 is accomplished by means of a pitman or connecting rod 39 interposed between the crank 36 and a bracket 40 mounted at the right-hand end of the blade. Upon rota-, .tion of the crank 36, the blade 15 is reciprocated toward and away from the backing member 16.

As indicated before, the edge of the blade 15 should not engage the backing member 16, but nevertheless the backing member must move with the blade to disengage the severed loops from the tape. This is accomplished by mounting on the top of the blade a cross member 41 which extends through slots 42 and 43 in the guides 37 and 38 and carries at its outer ends internally threaded sleeves 44 and 45. Mounted in the sleeves in threaded relation to them are adjusting screws 46 and 47 which can be retained in adjusted position by means of jam nuts 49 and 50. The adjusting screws 46 and 47 are normally adjusted so that they strike the projecting nose or edge 16a of the backing member 16 and thereby cause the backing member 16 to move with the blade against the pressure of the spring 31. Proper spacing of the blade 15 and the backing member 16 during the loop cutting and removing step can be accurately predetermined by adjustment of the screws 46 and 47. Move-' ment of the backing member to the right is limited by means of a set screw 51 which engages in a groove 52 in the bottom of the backing member 16 and is engageable with a shoulder 53 at the left-hand end of the groove to limit outward movement of the backing member.

In order to remove the severed loops from the edge of the blade 15, the scraper 23 may be mounted on an arm of U-shaped contour 54 which is carried by means of a cross pin 55 mounted in upwardly extending lugs 56 and 57 on the guide members 37 and 38. An outwardly extending arm 58 bears against the upper edge of a cam 59 fixed to the crank 36. A spring 60 holds the arm or lever 58 in contact with the cam. The cam is adjusted so that the scraper 23 is rocked down into contact with the blade during its return movement to the ri ht.

fhe crank 36, cam 59 and the jaw 18 are all driven by means of a motor 64 mounted below the platform 27 and connected by means of a belt or chain 65 to a reduction gear 66. The reduction gear is in turn connected by means of a chain 67 to the crank 36 and by means of a chain 68 to a gear 69 which rotates a cam 70 mounted adjacent to the gripping member 18. The cam 70 engages a wear plate 71 that is normally urged outwardly, toward and into contact with the cam by means of a spring 72 mounted behind it. In this way, the jaws 17 and 18 are opened and closed to permit alternate advancing of the tape with the coil thereon and gripping of the tape during the cutting operation. The motor 64 can be started and stopped manually, or, if desired, it can be controlled by an automatic start and stop mechanism, such as a single revolution clutch, to enable automatic operation of the gapping apparatus.

Any suitable mechanism for advancing the tape can be used. It can be advanced manually or mechanically to gap the fastener at predetermined intervals to produce fasteners of the desired length.

The mechanism described above can be simplified in some respects to accomplish a gapping operation by modification of the shape of the cutting blade. By providing blades of the type shown in Figs. 10 to 13, inclusive, it is possible to do away with the backing member 16 as well as the control mechanism for maintaining the proper spacing between the cutting blade 15 and the backing member 16. Referring now to Figs. 10 to 13, the blade 80 is provided with a series of sharpened chisel-like teeth 81, 82, 83, etc., with interposed dull notches 84, 85, etc. The chisel-like edges of the teeth 81, 82, 83 etc. are sharpened and they are also provided with sharpened nicks or recesses 81a, 82a, 83a, at about the center of their cutting edges. Notches 81a, 82a, 83a are spaced to engage alternate loops of the coil 86 and the notches 84, 85 engage the loops between those engaged by the notches 81a, 82a, 83a. Accordingly, when the blade 80 ,is advanced to the position shown in Fig. 11, the notches 81a, 82a, 83a, etc., engage alternate loops of the coil 86 and cut them. As the blade 80 advances further to the position shown in Figs. 12 and 13, the uncut loops between the cut loops engage in the dull notches 84 and 85 and are gripped thereby so that the severed coils are stripped out of the thread loops that connect them with the tape 87 held between the gripping jaws 88 and 89. In this modification, it will be apparent that it is possible to cut the coil at intervals and to detach the cut loops of the coil from the tape with a single cutting and gripping ele- ,ment.

Another modification of the invention shown in Figs. 14 to 19 differs from those described above in that it enables a pair of meshed stringers of a coil-type slide fastener to be gapped in a single cutting operation. To accomplish this result, the two stringers 90 and 91, with the coils 92 and 93 thereof in meshed relation, are disposed above a backing member 94 which corresponds generally to the backing member 16 described above. A pair of parallel blades 95 and 96 are mounted for movement toward and away from the backing member generally in a direction at right angles to the plane ofthe tapes 90 and 91. The blades are advanced to cut through the upper sides of the loops of the coils 92 and 93 simultaneously, as shown in Fig. 15, and then move downwardl'y with the backing member 94 past the tapes 90 and 91 into'the positions shown in Fig. 16 to withdraw or disengage the severed loops from the tapes 90 and 91. The severed and withdrawn loops of the coil can be stripped from the edges of the blades 95 and 96 by means of a stripping bar 97 which is mounted for reciprocation between the blades 95 and 96. In this way, relative moveinent of the stripping bar 97 and the blades 95 and 96 will detach the loops and allow them to be discharged down- The gapping mechanism can be adapted for automatic operation in the following manner. As shown in Figs. 18 and 19, the backing member 94 is supported on a base plate or platform 98 with springs 99 interposed between them normally urging the backing member 94 upwardly.

The backing member may be mounted on a backing plate 100 which is guided by means of dowels 101 for movement in a vertical direction.

- The blades 95 and 96 are mounted on a cross head 102 which is guided for vertical reciprocating movement by means of ears 103 and 104 on its ends which are slidably mounted on vertically extending guide rods 105 and 106. Two or more of such ears and guide rods may be provided to assure accurate movement of the cutting blades. Up and down movement of the blades is pro duced by means of a cam 107 which is mounted on a shaft 108 journaled in side members 109, 110 supported on the base plate 98 by means of the guide rods 105, 106 or in any other suitable way. The shaft 108 may be rotated manually or by a motor and may be controlled by a single revolution clutch or the like to render the apparatus automatic in operation, if desired. The cam 107- moves the cross head 102 down and the spring 111 and 112 mounted on the guide rods beneath and engaging the ears 103 and 104 urge the cross head 102 up.

Movement of the backing member 94 without contact with the cutting edges of the blades 95 and 96 can be accomplished by means of screw stops of the type disclosed in Figs. 8 and 9 inasmuch as yielding movement of the backing member 94 enables proper adjustment by this means. Opening and closing of the gripping members for holding the tapes 90 and 91 may be accomplished as follows. The hingedly connected jaws 114 and 115 of each set of gripping members 116 are mounted on brackets 117 carried by the guide rods 105 and 106. Extending downwardly from the cross head 102 are pairs of tubular sleeves 118 and 119, each slidably receiving a button or a rod 120 which is urged downwardly by means of a spring 121 in the sleeve. As the cross head begins its downwardmovement, the button 120 engages the upper jaw 115 of each gripping member urging the jaws of the gripping member together and keeping them closed with increasingly greater force as the cutting blades 95 and 96 move downwardly. The spring 121 permits the necessary relative movement of the cross head and the gripping members 116 to allow cutting and removal of the loops and subsequent release of the tapes when the cross head is retracted.

Cam means are also provided for actuating the stripper bar 97. As best shown in Fig. 18, stripper bar 97 has its ends connected to vertically extending rods 124 and 125 which are slidable in the cross head 102 and engage the cams 126 and 127 at their upper ends. The rods 124 and 125 are normally biased upwardly by means of leaf springs 128 connected at one end to the cross head 102 and having their other free ends engaging in a notch 129 near the upper end of each rod. By suitably shaping the cams 126 and 127, the stripper bar 97 will be caused to move downwardly to strip the severed convolutions from the blades near the bottom of the strike of the cross head thereby discharging them below the level of the tapes.

It will be understood that the double blades and backing member disclosed in Figs. 14 to 19 may be replaced,

if desired, by means of the notched edged blades disclosed in Figs. 10 to 13 and that such a substitution allows thebacking member 94 to be omitted. However, it is preferred to use straight edged blades like the blades 15 and 20 rather than the notched edge blades 80 because they are less likely to disarrange the coil sections on opposite sides of the severed coil sections.

It will be understood that the apparatus for operating and moving the blades relative to the facing elements and in relation to the backing member, when the latter is used, are susceptible to considerable modification and, therefore, the forms of the invention described herein should be considered as illustrative only and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for gapping slide fasteners having interlocking fastening elements, each formed of a plurality of loops and joined to a piece of material, comprising a cutting member having cutting portions thereon for severing a fastening element at a plurality of points at opposite ends of and along the length of a section to be detached from said fastening element, means supporting a piece of material with a fastening element thereon adjacent to said cutting member, means for moving said supporting means and said cutting member relatively to sever said fastening element at said plurality of points to disconnect a plurality of loops from said fastener element and each other, and means movable relative to said supporting means. for engaging said disconnected loops and displacing said loops relative to said supporting means to disengage themfrom said material.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, in which said cutting member has a continuous edge between and including said cutting portions for cutting one side of each loop in said section.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 1, in which said cutting member has a plurality of spaced apart cutting edges between said cutting portions to cut alternate loops in said section.

4. Apparatus for gapping coil-type slide fasteners having interlocking generally helical fastening coils, each coil being formed of a plurality of connected loops and being joined to a piece of material by thread passing around said coils, comprising a cutting member having a cutting edge corresponding in length to the gap to be cut in a coil, means supporting a coil adjacent to said cutting member, means for moving said cutting member and said supporting means relatively to sever loops of said coil, and means movable with said cutting member for engaging the severed loops and displacing them relative to the means for supporting the coil to disengage them from said material.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 4, in which the means for engaging the severed loops comprises a jaw member opposing said cutting member and coacting therewith to grip the severed loops therebetween and move them away from said material.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 5, in which the means for engaging the severed loops are spaced teeth on said cutting member defining notches therebetween to grip and withdraw said severed loops from said material.

7. Apparatus for gapping coil-type slide fasteners having generally helical fastening coils, each coil being formed of a plurality of connected loops and being joined to a piece of material by means passing around the coils, comprising a pair of gripping elements for releasably gripping the material to hold a coil thereon in fixed position, means for actuating said gripping members to grip and release said material, a cutting member movable relative to said gripping members into and out of engagement with the coil, a backing member opposing said cutting member and movable relative to said gripping members, said backing member being engageable with said coil to hold it while the cutting member:

moves into engagement, and means for moving said cutting member relative to said gripping members to cut at least two spaced apart loops of said coil and thereafter moving said cutting and backing members simultaneously with a section of said coil between said out loops engaged therebetween to disengage said section from said material.

8. Apparatus for gapping coil-type slide fasteners having generally helical fastening coils formed of a plurality of connected loops connected to pieces of material, comprising means for releasably gripping the pieces of material to hold said coil in position, a cutting member adjacent to said gripping means and movable transversely thereof into cutting engagement with said coil, a backing member adjacent to said gripping means and in alignment with said cutting member, means for moving said cutting member toward said backing member to engage a portion of the coil therebetween and cut through one side thereof, and means for moving said backing member with said cutting member and transversely of said gripping members to detach the cut portions of said coil from said material.

9. Apparatus for gapping coil-type slide fasteners having generally helical fastening coils formed of a plurality of connected loops connected to pieces of material, comprising opposed gripping members for releasably holding a meshed coil-type fastener with the meshed coils between said gripping members, a pair of cutting blades movable simultaneously into and out of cutting engagement with said coils, means for moving said cutting blades to cut through one side of a plurality of loops of each coil, and means movable with said blades for moving the cut loops transversely relative to the gripping members to detach the cut loops from the pieces of material.

10. Apparatus for gapping coil-type slide fasteners having generally helical fastening coils formed of a plurality of connected loops connected to pieces of material, comprising opposed gripping members for releasably holding a meshed coil-type fastener with the meshed coils between said gripping members, a pair of cutting blades movable simultaneously into and out of cutting engagement with said coils, means for moving said cutting blades to cut through one side of a plurality of loops of each coil, means movable with said blades for moving the cut loops transversely relative to the gripping members to detach the cut loops from the pieces of material, and means for stripping the cut loops from said blades.

11. The apparatus set forth in claim 9, in which the means movable with the blades is a backing member facing said cutting blades and movable therewith with the cut loops gripped between the backing member and the blades.

12. Apparatus for gapping slide fasteners having interlocking fastening elements, each element being formed of a plurality of connected loops and being joined to a piece of material by thread passing around said loops, comprising a cutting member having a cutting edge corresponding in length to a gap to be cut in a fastening element, means supporting a fastening element adjacent to said cutting member, means for moving said cutting member and said supporting means relatively to sever a plurality of loops of said fastener along the length of the portion thereof corresponding to the gap to be formed, and means movable with said cutting member for engaging the severed loops and displacing them relative to the means for supporting the fastening element to disengage them from said material.

13. Apparatus for gapping coil-type slide fasteners having a fastening element formed of a plurality of connected loops connected to a piece of material, comprising means for releasably gripping the piece of material to hold a fastening element in position, a cutting member adjacent to said gripping means and movable transversely thereof into cutting engagement with said fastening element, a backing member adjacent to said gripping means and in alignment with said cutting member, means for moving said cutting member toward said backing member to engage a portion of the fastening element therebetween and cut through one side of the loops thereof along the length of a portion of the fastening element to be removed therefrom, and means for moving said backing member with said cutting member transversely of said gripping means to detach the cut loops of said fastening element from said material.

14. Apparatus for gapping slide fasteners having a pair of fastening elements formed of a plurality of connected loops connected to a pair of pieces of material comprising opposed gripping members for releasably holding a fastener with meshed fastening elements between said gripping members, a pair of cutting blades movable simultaneously into and out of cutting engagement with the loops of adjacent sections of said fastening elements to cut a plurality of loops of each fastening element along the length of a portion thereof, means for moving said cutting blades to cut through one side of said loops of said portions of each fastening element and means movable with said blades for moving the cut loops transversely relative to the gripping members to detach the cut loops from the pieces of material.

Great Britain Oct. 9, 1902. 

